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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
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UK’s Top Court Rules Against Father Over Disney Vacation

The U.K. Supreme Court has ruled that a father broke the law by taking his daughter on vacation to Florida during school time.

LONDON (AP) — A trip to Disney World has sparked a battle in Britain's highest court.

The U.K. Supreme Court has ruled that a father broke the law by taking his daughter on vacation to Florida during school time.

Jon Platt was fined 120 pounds ($150) after taking his 6-year-old daughter out of school for a week in 2015, and prosecuted when he failed to pay. Lower courts found he had not acted unlawfully because his daughter had a good overall attendance record, but local officials took the case to the country's top court.

Five justices ruled unanimously Thursday that U.K. schools had the right to set rules about what constitutes "regular" attendance.

Platt said the ruling means millions of parents in Britain no longer have the power to make decisions about their own children.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Categories / Courts, International

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